Street Fighter (Season 1)
by MartialArtsLover
Summary: This series will take place, parallely to my Tekken: Redemption series, just in case some Tekken characters get mentioned in this seperate series. Since Akuma is part of the Tekken lore, anything that happens in THIS series, will also become canon in my other Tekken series, so be sure to check both out. ;) All characters belong to Capcom
1. Where It All Starts

**Chapter 1: Where It All Starts**

Martial Arts... the one thing, that never ceases in taking the world by storm, giving birth to a number of brave individuals, who shall stand up against the ever-growing might of corrupted minds, set on claiming the world as their own...

But there was one fighter, that was the most fearless of them all... Ryu. Trained in the arts of his master's Shotokan and truly, the embodiment of a fearless model warrior, Ryu is determined to wander the very earth to go and find the most worthy opponents he could find... to become the strongest of them all...

However, every legend has pretty humble beginnings... but some... are born from pure evil...

40 Years Earlier...

Loud crackling, emanating from big torches, that are positioned throughout the entire room, forming a circle, could be heard... and in the center of the room... there he was laying, tied to a bed, made out of pure stone...

A little boy, with a red headband and a white, completely torn Karate attire...

The sincere fear and insecurity could be seen in his eyes alone, without even listening to his silent whispers of agony...

"Please... please...! I don't want to die...! I don't want to die, damn it...! Whoever put me in here, let me out, I beg of you...!"

"Silence, brat!"

Loud banging was heard from the outside of the room, a warning for the whining to stop... this place was apparently well-guarded and whoever commanded these horrid guards to watch over the room, in which this innocent soul is held captive, it was bad news. And it wasn't too long, before the door got abruptly opened with many footsteps being heard, entering the cell... once that happened, the fear in the boy's heart became more intense by the second, especially... with him now finally seeing his personal tormentor... a cloaked, white-bearded man, accompanied by a middle-aged man, that had the hairstyle of a samurai with his hair being held upwards in a ponytail... that man, is who he is most frighteningly familiar with... it was his master's personal nemesis... Akuma. His master's most despised, personal nemesis.

"No way...! It's you...!"

"Hmhmhmhm... what a fool my "rival" is, just sending out his own pupil into this cold, harsh and lonely world, basically putting a target on his back... for me to get a hold of... but he is an even bigger fool, for not asking for more power. He could have had it all and yet he blew all his opportunities, just to waste it on a little brat like you... how shameful..."

He then throws a scornful look at the little boy, to which he responds with a dismayed look this time, with his fear slowly turning into relentless rage... even more so, once he heard these degrading words, coming out of this man's mouth...

"What was your name again, young one... Ryu...? Let me ask you something... why do you even bother with Gouken? He is a tragedy in itself... he failed to accomplish, what I was able to do... and that is controlling the true potential inside my soul... I see nothing wrong in what I did, anyone that had the same talents as me, would feel the same way... And yet he turns his back on me, missing out on so many chances to get a full taste of this amazing power..."

"My master has nothing to do with you...! He betrayed you, because he knew how much of a bad person you are and all the mean things you had to pull off in order to prove yourself...! You are rotten to the core, for having killed your own mentor... you are a disgrace...! Now let me go!"

This stone-hard resistance admittedly impressed Gouken's former training partner... for his very young age, Ryu knew how to fight for himself, even verbally and with childish tears in his eyes. His bravery in the face of evil was remarkable... but it irritated him nonetheless... he could see, that Gouken clearly "poisoned" this young kid with his own kind of wisdom... the kind of wisdom, that he deeply resents...

"Stop being so stupid, child! Do you really want to make the same mistakes, that he did...?! It would be a massive disappointment with someone as rich in potential as you...! From the look in your eyes alone, I can your thirst for more strength... wouldn't you want that inner desire of yours to become a reality?"

This only made the young Ryu even angrier... he resisted temptation, because he could sort of predict, what this wretched man was intending...

"I want power! But if I do, then I am going to achieve it by honest means and not by silencing others the way you did it! I will never succumb to your will! NEVER!"

This only made Akuma shake his head in disappointment, as he finally realizes... this boy was beyond saving at this point... so he thought... but he realized, that letting this youngster escape now would remain a waste either way... he sought for perfection, taming this demon inside himself and becoming the strongest being in existence... such a goal, as impressive as it sounds, cannot be achieved by normal conditions... and he wouldn't want to throw away any given opportunities...

"How sad, how truly, truly sad... so you won't cooperate, no matter what. Very well then, I myself cannot bring myself to let such a good chance slip... the Satsui no Hado cannot wait! Guards, prepare the ritual!"

The moment he gave the order, all the guards in the room began moving, forming a circle around the now deeply terrified Ryu and Akuma, alongside the bearded man in the dark-green cloak... while he and the unknown, elderly man approached the stone bed, all the guards began murmuring words in an unknown language, accompanying the process of the ritual... it was then, when the bearded guy then took out a large knife and handed it over to Akuma, where the interesting part came... he undid the top part of Ryu's Karate gi, before starting to engrave several cuts into the youngster's flesh, exactly on the spot, where his heart was. Of course, this caused Ryu to shriek out in agony, whenever the knife came in deeper contact with his skin... the pain was very real indeed.

After a few minutes of pure torture, the design around his heart took the shape of a circle, that resembled the sun... with his wounds still fresh... Akuma then began the final phase of the ritual. He took the knife...

"Now demon... hear me out and do my bidding... grant me... thee who shall set you free... and grant you guidance in this world... infinite power... and take my blood... as sacrifice... for your approval... behold!"

...and without warning, he suddenly starts stabbing himself multiple times, deep into his own heart. As expected, lots of blood began spilling onto the floor, but that was exactly what he planned. He began feeling the spot, where the blood was leaking out... and with his blood-soaked, right hand, he raised it high up into the air, with dark purple sparks surrounding it... and while that happened, the cloaked guy then began yelling out some kind of summoning spell, as he puts his hands over Ryu's eyes... making him not see, what was coming for him... and once Akuma's power was fully charged... with his last ounce of strength, he smashed his purple glowing palm right on the spot, where he engraved his "masterpiece" on this young boy...

At first, nothing happened... but as Ryu's struggle ended and he went totally silent... suddenly, Akuma's eyes shot up wide open, as he felt something warm growing up inside of him... as purple and red sparks surround his entire body...

"Yes... yes... yes...! That must be it...! The power...! It's finally complete...! I can feel the power...! Hehehehehe... hahahahahahahahahaha!"

While he started laughing like a maniac, his appearance also began changing... his eyes lit up, and lost all their colours and became nothing, but inky red... and the sparks then surrounded his head, causing his hair to turn dark red... and despite the pressure, his ponytail remained stable... but none of the attendants noticed, not even Akuma... that even though this ritual proved to be a 100% success... it shall be proven fatal for everyone present...

"Grrrr..."

This threateningly low and demonic-sounding growling came from no other than the young Ryu... everyone stared in disbelief, as everyone present actually initially expected him to be dead, by the end of this whole procedure... but they were deadly wrong... the growling became louder and angrier with each passing second... as the boy then broke every single one of the chains, holding him down, in half with his ever-growing, now inhumane strength... and everyone could see... that his hair has become crimson red too, much like Akuma's... with the only difference being, that only his pupils have turned totally red... and that his heart seems to be missing... indicated by the eroded hole in his chest, that was now leaking a red light...

His resentful looks then fell upon one of the guards...

"How dare you... holding me here...!? Get... out... OF MY SIGHT!"

Without warning, the seemingly possessed boy then jumped at the guard and starts beating him up like an agitated, wild beast... as if he has completely forgotten about the definition of the word "mercy" and his master's teachings... and he ended this man's agony, by stomping repeatedly on his chest, before then turning his almost carnivorous sights on another one... and the massacre continued... as each guard suffered a bloody end... with the only exception being Akuma and this unknown headmaster, those who he couldn't even touch... and as he delivered the demon his strongest shot, he grabbed his little, petite wrist... and lifted him off the ground, smirking at the youngster with malevolent intent...

"So I was right about you... we do seem to find the same destination after all... that can only mean one thing... we must be connected by destiny. Our bloods were to cross at one point and now... your true potential has been unlocked... you can either thank me or resent me for the rest of your otherwise worthless life. Either way... this will NOT be the last time... we are going to see each other... we shall meet again and until then... farewell!"

Within an instance... Akuma punches the kid in the solar plexus, hard enough... for him to lose all consciousness and his demon form... the last thing, that Ryu's weak eyes were able to see... were Akuma and his accomplice leaving him behind... when suddenly, he heard a familiar voice... it belonged to Gouken...

"Ryu... Ryu...! RYU!"

Suddenly, the present Ryu's eyes shot up wide open... it turns out, it was all a flashback dream, with him having reminisced of his dark childhood and how Akuma negatively influenced him... and how his master then had to seal away to Satsui no Hado within his heart and put him under special care, that shall help him suppress his dark side... that wasn't the first time, that this nightmare returned into his subconscious and it definitely might never become the last time... it's just as Akuma predicted.

The now fully grown up Ryu took a look at his surroundings... the sun was shining brightly through the now open window, giving him a more or less comforting greeting... but he also remembered something... this was not his home dojo in Japan. He also remembered, that he and his mentor have decided to take a trip to Thailand, with the simple excuse being: vacation. Growing closer to one another. The usual business between teacher and student. He realized too late though, that Gouken was standing right in front of him, on the opposite side to his bed... and he comically jumped from how close he was.

"Oh! Master! Did... did I miss something again?"

He expected Gouken to not be pleased, as it looked like, he must have overslept something... but as usual, he could sense, whenever something was wrong and the concerned look on his face proved the opposite of his worst prediction...

"Ryu... let me guess, the nightmare happened again, right?"

The Shotokan Karate master sighed and scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed way, because he knew, he was in the right...

"How right you are... I am becoming easy to read, don't I? I just can't let go of his words... my soul just keeps tensing up, whenever I feel this dream coming back to me... it's like some sort of omen."

"Maybe, you aren't so off-road with that claim... but it's just as I told you before... for the time being, let us not focus on that. We have training to do."

Hearing that small announcement immediately brought Ryu out of bed and he jumps up and down to warm up a little, before doing one or two quick punches... but he was quick to realize... he had no pants on. That brought Gouken to him averting his eyes, while laughing out loud at the same time with his pupil comically hiding his abdomen and smiling in total embarrassment.

"Oh, yes! Give me a few moments and then let us begin."

"Hehe, don't rush it, we are also on vacation, remember? We have all the time in the world, Ryu."

"Whatever..."

A little while later, down at the rented dojo...

Ryu was dressed up and ready to break a sweat with his master... and while the two went at it like usual, going all out... the Ansatsuken master reminisced of all the people, he has encountered in the course of his life, which was good, as it always helped him relieve his mind from anything bad, that has happened to him previously... these inspiring and deeply respected fighters made him into the kind and caring man, that he was today...

Ken Masters, his training partner and most loyal friend. Both Ryu and Ken knew each other sind Day 1. They have always trained together, when they were children and that never had changed, even with his current absence. Much like with Ryu, Gouken decided to take Ken in, as for one thing, he saw huge potential in this blonde, young boy... and for another, that he told him, that his own father had sent him to Japan, just to learn what real discipline was and he believed, that getting into the world of martial arts would prove fruitful in his regards of taking responsibility for his own life later.

He didn't really understand at first and understandably mistrusted both Gouken and his training partner... in the end though, after a while... he and the Ansatsuken disciple were to develop a strong bromance and would become inseparable. Especially after Ryu saved his bacon from a number of drunk troublemakers... and Ken soon returned the favour, by fighting him to suppress the Satsui no Hado once again... it was no longer friendship... the two saw each other as brothers from different mothers... at least, that's how Ken describes it.

But he wasn't the only one, that the Ansatsuken master had previously forged a strong bond with... there was another one...

Chun-Li, the top agent from Interpol and Ryu's "partner in crime". When Ryu was sent to Hong Kong by Gouken to go and look for a master with the nickname "The Devil of Hong Kong", that went by the name of Gen, he also met, at the same time, his best disciple... that was Chun-Li. And it didn't take long, no longer than a few days, until she realized during their training sessions... Ryu was as good as his word. The two had lots of fun fighting and working out together. There was never a session, that she could possibly declare "boring" or "dull" or "fruitless"...

At the same time though, Chun-Li opened up to him and told him everything about her own life and if Gen was her real father... that was proven false as it turns out, that her real father, Dorai, who was a well-respected police officer in Hong Kong, got murdered by someone, while he was investigating on a drug-trafficking case, that involved a company named "Shadaloo"... and that bad guy, was no other than M. Bison... that very man, was to become Chun-Li's personal arch-nemesis for life... she made an oath to herself deep down to avenge her dad, as she will be working hard to follow in her deceased father's footsteps, track Bison down and bring him to fall for good. Not just for everyone's sake, but also for her own, as she would be then able to tell herself... she did it.

She also openly admitted, that Gen's training was beyond inhumane and she would often find herself hating him for his brutal methods... but she stopped caring, once the news of her father's death reached her ears and all that she could possibly think of, is revenge... even though Ryu deeply admired her burning determination, he found it hard to find sympathy behind her motives of becoming stronger... but at the same time, he could relate to her only too well, as Akuma played a similar role for him, like with Bison for Chun-Li... of course, the two became really good friends in no time, despite her being busy nowadays in getting far with her career as officer at Interpol...

Back in their youth, Ryu would often meet up with either Ken and Chun-Li in different parts of the world, just to spend some quality time with them and even train with them, rain or shine... to say, that these two, alongside Gouken, have grown on the Ansatsuken master so closely, would be a gross understatement. They are basically family for him... and with Chun-Li, it was something that may as well go beyond that of normal companionship... at one point in their younger days, she suggested to Ryu to go to Italy with her and meet up with a well-known, local fortune teller there... at the time, the still young and inexperienced Ryu, didn't feel so well about his own future, as he feared to meet Akuma again, even though his own training was basically complete and he was already a young adult by then. So to relieve him of these more or less justified sorrows, the female Chinese came up with the idea of meeting the fortune teller, Rose.

The female Italian was more than happy to help and assure Ryu, that everything will be on good terms for the time being... so she saw into his soul and his future... indeed, she could not deny, that there will come dark times, but she could also see, that by then... he and his loved ones will be ready to face fate with their heads raised and without fear... and that there will come a time, where she and Ryu shall meet again... "meet again"... that one part was what Ryu found too ludicrous to be true, as he didn't entirely believe her... and to this day, he still has a hard time doing so... and just for the morbid curiosity of it, as daring as Chun-Li was, she could NOT resist asking... how the future looked for her and Ryu as... you-know-what. Rose did as she was asked, but... she couldn't get a clear answer, as she saw... that their bond shall reach a certain distance... and that it all relies on each of them to determine the course of their special kind of bond... the response of the two could not get any more amusing, as their faces reddened like overly fresh tomatoes...

And with Ken, it was a totally different story... ever since he found his significant other, her name being Eliza, he felt like it was finally time to take control over his own life and not let others from his family or anybody else, influence him anymore... that decision would lead to him marrying Eliza later and become father of their newborn son, Mel... Ryu could still remember the day, where he, Chun-Li and Gouken attended Ken's wedding, celebrating his entrance to a whole new and complete life... nowadays, he is busy running his own dojo, somewhere in the US, even offering some online training, selling quite the number of instruction DVDs... and spending quality time with his own family, like the happy father that he was. He couldn't be any more happier...

Ryu was sincerely glad for the life of his friends having developed forward in their own ways... he even heard, that Chun-Li had been promoted to a headmaster of her own unit... but at the same time, it has been quite a while, since he has seen them. Him missing them and wishing to see them again, was more than intelligible.

After a good hour of breaking a sweat, both Gouken and his own pupil, drenched in sweat, then took a seat on the wooden floor, laughing in a satisfied way...

"You never cease to not disappoint me, Ryu... I never got any regrets taking you in. When worst comes to worst, you may as well replace me, should we get another one in our ranks... if you know what I mean."

"Huh? What you don't refer to that one girl, do you...?"

He could guess all too well, what Gouken was talking about... he was referring to Ryu's Number #1, most dedicated fan, Sakura Kasugano. He didn't really know, when she exactly caught wind of him and his extraordinaire talents as martial artist, but his first bet was the very first World Warrior Tournament. At the time, she still must have been only a kid... making him feel even more awkward on the inside... that young girl admires him deeply and when he and her first encountered each other in a fight, that took place two years ago... it was mind-blowing for him at how well she copied his moves, despite them showing a certain kind of rustiness to them...

"Ah wait, now I remember... it was her, right? Sakura Kasugano."

"Mh-hm. Looking back, it was certainly astonishing, watching her fight you. That fire in her eyes, was indeed worth further inspection... and how would it be, if I told you, that I would consider allowing her to join us on our journey?"

Hearing that suggestion from his master, he had a hard time hiding his inner embarrassment... not that he HATED Sakura, it's just that for him... allowing a girl, that is still in the middle of building the fundament for her own future, to go and train with him... it didn't sound right.

"Huh...? Well, don't misunderstand, I like that girl... a lot actually, but... I cannot force her to leave everything behind, ignore her school studies and ruin her own future in the long run... then again, she DID go after me, even before summer vacation..."

"Hahaha, if that is the case, then I don't see anything wrong in accepting her as second training partner for you. Admit it, don't you feel lonely, ever since Ken left? Wouldn't you like someone as back-up, in case I am not present?"

"Hmmmm... I don't know, I really don't know... and for another, she isn't even here. We'd have to go back to Japan in order to meet up with her... if she has time, that's another story altogether. I would not be able to live with myself, should her life become a mess later on, all because of me and my influence on her. Because I am idol, don't I have some kind of responsibility to follow? To make sure, that my admirers don't end up in a bad way?"

That protectiveness of his adoptive son made Gouken respect and love him even more, even though they would have to agree to disagree on that argument... Ryu then received a good pat on the back...

"It's fine. Take your time. It's not like I force you to anything. I would make me glad though. You do realize, that I care for you, right? Seeing you all isolated makes me worry..."

"No need to worry, I trained mostly isolated, so it's not that much of a big deal anyhow..."

"Well, whatever you say, boy... let's go and grab a bite. Aren't you starving?"

Suddenly... both of their tummies growled out loud... indicating one thing... they weren't just hungry, they were starving! Ryu looked at his master with wide eyes.

"What the...?!"

"Hahahaha, I suppose, training is not only a good stress reliever, it also helps you get distracted from the stressful life itself... anyways, let's get going."

"Yes."

Later...

Right now, the two Ansatsuken fighters are at a closeby resto, slurping on some fine noodle soup... and one thing, that should be noted... Ryu was actually wearing sneakers... it was all influenced by Chun-Li, with her having "implanted" the very common habit of wearing day-to-day life clothing into his brain cells, just to not stand out too much among the crowd... which is something, that Ryu could not stand at all, since he mostly preferred walking anywhere barefoot... but since the female Interpol officer was so gracious to teach him the basics, he played along... and grew accustomed to it, fairly quickly... but it isn't fully fledged out yet...

The sight alone... made Gouken wholeheartedly laugh... as he found it very unusual for his student to wear shoes... much to Ryu's dismay...

"Hahahaha, I'll bet, Chun-Li must have had plenty of fun, torturing you like this! Maybe next time, she may as well torture you some more. After all... that black suit you wore, ha! That face of yours had the value of gold!"

"Ha... ha... ha... very funny. I am so laughing with you..."

"Oh, come on, don't be like that! Aren't you supposed to be thankful for what she did for you?"

"...no comment. Next time I run into her, I will have to bring a sign along that says: NO TOUCHING ALLOWED. Or even better: NO SHOES! NO SUITS!"

"Hahahaha, you do realize, that it won't get any better, right?"

"Ngh... why me...?"

Suddenly... Ryu winces, as he felt something approaching... whatever that powerful presence is, that he is sensing... it cannot be a good omen. That made Gouken immediately stop laughing, as he was able to sense it too...

"You sensed it too, didn't you, Ryu?"

"Yes, indeed I did... and it is fast approaching... it's coming from the nearby construction site...! Let me go and check it out. I can't even tell, what this being's plans are and if it's after the lives of others... before others get put into harm's way, let me take care of it."

At first, he was hesitant, but since Ryu's training was complete and he was strong enough to handle himself, indeed... he nods and gives his pupil and encouraging pat on the shoulder.

"...good luck. I am counting on."

"Leave this to me."

And with that, Ryu ran out of the restaurant, heading straight for the location, from where he first sensed that powerful presence...

Meanwhile at the construction site...

A girl's scream was heard... it was a short girl, with egyptian-themed attire and suitable accessories, green eyes and purple hair, shaped into a bob-cut... as she is then seen landing powerlessly in front of that... thing... "beast" wasn't even the right way to describe this unspeakable, wicked evil... after having received a very painful blow by that horrid being, having tried her hardest to defend herself against it, there she was... totally knocked down with no power left to continue. Judging by the wounds, she must have fought for quite a while against this thing and since it had no visible wounds... it must mean, all her efforts were in vain... she desperately started thinking to herself...

"No... damn it... just, how tough is this guy...?! That Necalli's strength was not... how I predicted it to be...! What should I do...?!"

She gasped in horror, as this dreadlocked being, that supposedly went by the name, Necalli... slowly approached her, with animal-like intent in his eyes... as he kept repeating this one word over and over again to himself...

"Devour-our-our...! Devour...!"

"No... stand back...! Don't come any closer...!"

Before the poor girl could have any remote chance of defending herself... she found herself getting mercilessly grabbed by the head, by no other than this monster... the amounts of strength he puts into this simple grab, meant nothing but total suffering for this youngster... as she felt her skull being almost crushed under his power... with her rapidly fading strength, all that she could do, was listen to these last words from Necalli...

"Origin... of the power...! It shall be mine... to devour!"

"Ngh, I can't... go on... is this... it for me...?!"

"I will tear you to pieces...!"

"Ma... ster..."

And just when all hope seemed lost for her... she suddenly felt the pressure around her little head loosening up a lot... and she heard someone's battle cry...

"Raaaagh!"

...and how Necalli began growling out loud in agony, as he gets pushed back by whoever just saved her... it was Ryu. She quickly regained her focus, as she finally saw her saviour.

"Huh? What?"

"Everything alright?"

She was quick to realize, who it exactly was... and it was the same man, that her master was previously talking about...

"Wait...! Don't tell me you are... THE Ryu?!"

"Huh? How do you know my name?"

"Oh! Umm, well..."

She suddenly gasped, as she saw Necalli charging at him.

"Watch out! Here he goes again!"

But Ryu was quick to dodge and avoid the incoming charging attack from this unknown monster... and even manages to push it back again with a well-timed frontal punch, right in the chest... the girl was impressed at how agile and strong Ryu was... and she was actually winning hope again, that all this might be over on a positive note after all... and when he showed her an encouraging grin, she had no choice, but to believe in him already...

"I will handle it, don't worry! Just stand back, alright? It will all be alright."

She couldn't help, but happily giggle at how brave he was... she also nodded in approval.

"Hehehe... thanks..."

"Grrrr..."

With that, Ryu turns all focus over to Necalli, concentrating as good as possible, as he then heard this monster's all too apparent threat...

"The souls of warriors must return to ME...! Grraaaaaaagh!"

"I guess we'll see about that..."

FIGHT!

Like before, Necalli goes for another frontal attack, charging directly into our hero... and despite him blocking it, by crossing his arms, he still gets pushed back, because this evil being previously put a lot of force into his charging attack and this was no different from before. However, this also gave the Ansatsuken master food for thought, as he analyzes his opponent by general facts of combat...

"OK, so this guy seems to rely a lot on brute strength... which could only mean, his defensive skills must be lacking... I might as well test that theory out."

Once again, Ryu postpones his own tactic, as he waits for Necalli to charge at him again... and as expected, he took the bait. Our hero starts blocking and countering every each of his attempts to hit him with either his elbows or shoulders and right before anything could happen, he crosses his arms again to block yet another charging attack...

"Here goes!"

...before then letting out a very sudden burst of blue energy, catching the dazed and surprised Necalli off-guard, before then speeding ahead, getting in a ducking position... and then brutally uppercutting the monster, right under the chin with a well-known move of his.

"SHORYUKEN!"

That proved indeed to be quite painful for this unknown entity, as it got sent high up into the air, before crashing back down on the rocky ground, writhing in pain... the girl watched in glee, as her previous tormentor gets what it deserves...

"Awesome...! This is awesome...! Keep going...!"

But she quickly recoiled in fear, as both she and Ryu realized, that this was not the end. Because of that one powerful blow, they only made Necalli more angrier and eager to continue his evil doings...

"Grrrrr...! You... are a powerful soul...! Devouring you would prove quite festive...!"

"I see, you didn't have enough yet..."

"Devour...! DEVOUR!"

With his rage having reached a pretty feverish tone, he starts smashing both of his fists on the ground, causing a pretty light shockwave to get sent off... but shockingly, it actually managed to stun the Ansatsuken master enough for Necalli to take the initiative and head straight for Ryu, brutally grabbing him by the head, before smashing his face straight to the ground, with him then getting mercilessly kicked away, with him rolling across the floor... the female youngster gasped in fear, as she felt slight hopelessness dwell inside herself again...

"No...! Please, don't give up, you've already done a good job so far... at least, more than what I was able to do... but still keep fighting...!"

While Ryu was still laying on the ground, Necalli has already jumped high up into the air, ready to dropkick the martial artist, right in the back... but suddenly, in slow motion, Ryu quickly regains control over himself again and stands up... only to then catch Necalli's ankle in mid-air, before throwing him away from himself to form a good distance... this failure made the monster even angrier, making it charge at the Japanese again... only this time, Ryu steps aside and then normally uppercuts this evil being into the air, before then pulling off another trademark move of his.

"Have a good taste of my TATSUMAKI!"

"Huh?!"

Before Necalli could comment on it, he found himself getting sucked into Ryu's Hurricane-like kicking motion, before getting eventually sent flying by the last kick, crashing into one of the metallic pillars on the site... with quite the number of rocks falling on his head... that gave the entity an idea... he growls, before standing back up, glaring maliciously at his now personal enemy...

"Impressive...! But not good enough to beat me...! Let's see, if you can withstand this, mortal...!"

He gathers all the rocks that landed on his hood before, to form a giant rock ball out of them... he evilly starts to grin, as if he was convinced, that this plan of his will definitely work out... the girl felt extremely nervous... she was questioning, how Ryu will be able to stand up to that giant bolder...

"This is not good...! I really hope, he knows what he is doing... let us pray, that my master wasn't just telling me some kind of unbelievable folklore story about this guy..."

"TAKE THIS!"

With that announcement being made, Necalli jumps high up into the air, almost as high as the building behind him, that was still under construction... and uses all his strength, just to punch this huge rock back down to earth, targeting Ryu... during the fall, the bolder gathered lots of momentum, causing flames to surround it... but this didn't discomfort Ryu for some odd reason... as he felt, that now is the time to use IT. He nods to himself, before getting his hands into a position, as if he was charging something up... and indeed... the pure energy of life itself... gathered together in between his two palms, causing it to take up the shape of a huge, blue ball of light...

"It's time...!"

Then, the hero jumps directly in the direction of the falling "meteor"... before firing off his strongest move...

"HADOUKEEEEEEEEEN!"

The projectile then gets fired off... and despite the difference in size between the two projectiles... it pierced directly through the burning bolder, causing it to explode into thousand pieces... witnessing this... both Necalli and the unknown girl were in total shock... such a little, dinky bulb of light... taking down and entire ball of rock by itself... and this was the perfect distraction tactic for Ryu too... as he then used his enemy's confusion to his advantage... and jumps off of one of the rock pieces, just to fly directly in the direction of where Necalli was standing... he was completely defenceless... the perfect opportunity to strike again... and when he realized, what was really going on, it was a tad too late for him to dodge or block now...

"This is the end for you...! Here comes another one... HADOUKEEEEEEN!"

...and before he knew it, he got already struck by another Hadouken, that Ryu had saved up in reserve, all for him. The monster shrieked in agony, before doubling forward... shielding his own stomach... with Ryu then gracefully landing back on the ground, looking seriously at his now personally sworn nemesis.

"Had enough yet? Ready to leave this girl alone?"

"Grrrr... you... win... I forfeit...! But remember my words... you haven't seen the last of me yet...! We shall meet again...! And next time, you are going to be my next meal to devour...!"

Without a warning, Necalli then disintegrates into a puddle of liquid, made out of his own slime... before then disappearing into the heart of the sun... the moment he disappeared, he immediately ran over to the girl, who he had saved from this monster. He kneels down to her, and lifts her head to see, if she was alright... he gently starts shaking her...

"Hey, hey, are you OK? Say something..."

...before she weakly opens her eyes, and showed a weak grin...

"Hehe... you did it... thanks for having saved my butt back there... I really owe you one... ohhh... I really thought it was all over for me..."

He then decides to lift her up off the ground to carry her bridal style, out of the facility, comforting her as best as he could...

"It's OK, it's OK, don't move too much. Let me take you back to the dojo, my master will be ready to treat your wounds... you will be alright, I promise..."

"Thank you..."

Ryu had to smile to himself, feeling quite good about himself having saved someone... he did save lives before, but this felt different... he couldn't really explain why, but something told him, that this girl in his arms... might possess something of great value and it wasn't anything physical... and while she was getting carried back, the girl starts thinking to herself happily...

"There is no doubt about it... this MUST be the Ryu, my master was talking about... only someone, with a heart as pure and clear as his... would show such kindness to someone like me..."

TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. A Brand New Ally

**Chapter 2: A Brand New Ally**

After Ryu had saved the unknown girl from this malicious entity, that went by the odd name, Necalli... he had brought her back to the rented dojo, where his master was already waiting for him... his surprise could not be described in words, but denying an injured girl like this, was totally out of the question... so he was gladly willing to treat her... and after the procedure, he allowed the female Egyptian to sleep inside his own futon, that he had brought with him, in case they would get unexpected guests... now there she was, sleeping very peacefully, under the blanket...

The next day...

She stirred, as she sensed a presence, right near her... once she realized, it was Ryu, looking down on her only mere inches away... she starts blushing and then comically jumps in shock, causing their skulls to accidently collide with one another, with Ryu falling backwards, rubbing his now red forehead and she did the same...

"Ouchie..."

"Ngh, why did you do this?"

"I am so sorry... you really scared the crap out of me, geez... OK, that will leave a mark for sure..."

"Well, hehe, at least, you are fully awake now... when you passed out, I really thought, you were up there."

She then remembered everything... it struck her like a clap from a thunder...

"Oh, that's right! That dreadlocked freak ambushed me, before you had to help me and save my bacon... hmph, one or better yet, TWO thing are for sure to me now. First, this guy might never get past elementary school with that attitude... and if my own fate was to get eaten up by this beast, hoho, I will so hate my own job as fortune teller..."

Suddenly, an awkward silence overcame the two... before the still unknown girl realized something... and that fact alone, made her feel quite disgraceful...

"...my god! I am such a bonehead! Where have my manners gone to?! You saved my life and I didn't even properly introduce myself yet...! My name is Menat. I am a wandering fortune teller."

That reaction of hers actually manages to snap a smile on Ryu's lips, as he found the girl to be quite the likeable kind of "bonehead"... both then shook hands.

"Hehehe, nice to meet you, Menat... and also... to "complete the greeting", my name is Ryu. And much like you, I do the same... wander through all kinds of places and meet new people, although... I do anything, BUT fortune telling, before you ask. My heart is more set on testing my skills in combat, find my limits and go above and beyond to be the strongest..."

Hearing this confirmation... Menat was able to peacefully conclude for herself, that in the end, this really is the man, she has been looking for this whole time.

"So it really IS you... my eyes didn't fool me, all along... why it took me so long to recognize you, I got no idea..."

But once these words reached Ryu's ears, he became confused...

"Huh? What do you mean? Have you... been looking for me?"

"Yes. Who else? My current errand is as follows: Find Ryu and bring him to my master. Duh."

Even though, it wasn't clear yet... for some reason... repeating these last words over and over again in his mind, Ryu began reminiscing of something, that he nearly forgot about quite a while ago... that brought him down to this one decisive question.

"...Menat, who exactly is your master? Excuse my curiosity, if it's something you can only keep as a personal secret from me."

"Oh no, it's no big deal! I already expected you to ask me, sooner or later. To keep the long story short, I am the personal disciple of Rose, the well-known fortune teller from Genoa."

That was it. This cleared up everything for Ryu... he had to think to himself, as he remembered Rose's last words, before he departed with Chun-Li...

"Is this all just a mere coincidence, or... not...?"

FLASHBACK

Rose: "It is only a matter of time, Ryu... evil will not find rest... all that shall bring chaos back to the world... and until then, we shall see each other, face to face, again... and you will not be alone in this affair."

FLASHBACK ENDS

"I mean, not that Rose has ever been unreliable... but she does talk a lot and very certain things just never seem to come true, even when she bets her own beliefs on it... however... can this encounter with the girl here in front of me... be really counted as "coincidence", after she told me back then, that we "shall see each other again"...?"

He then returned to reality and asked the female fortune teller, exactly what he wants to know from her. The suspense was slightly overpowering him on the inside. Should his suspicion be confirmed correct... it's a bad omen.

"...by any chance, did Rose ever mention, that it was planned for me to reunite with her again, after a certain period of time?"

"How could you guess? Of course. But... from where did you know that? I am only the messenger, I don't deliver all too "special" news for someone, not even you... I run so many errands, it's hard to keep track, after all..."

"So I was right... something terrible is going to happen in the near future... and the time has come for me to go and return to her, as soon as possible..."

This only made Menat stare with her eyes wide open, as she was indeed really baffled... Ryu figured her out, but not only that. He reminded her of what Rose told her to do, when she sees him.

"...I may be the fortune teller here, but you just figured me out. And as an addition, you made me remember, what she told me, before I went off on my search for you...! And it went something along the lines of: As soon as you find Ryu, bring him and somebody else, back to me. This is the most important errand, you had to run up until now. And failing it, is not an option... I really am just a forgetful brick-brain..."

"I get, that I have to come, that's for certain, but... what does she mean by "take somebody else with me"? Does she mean, I have to bring more fighters to the table, than just myself?"

"She wasn't specific about the amount, but... does it really matter? Having reinforcements for large missions is always welcome home, y'know..."

This made Ryu fold his arms together, as he closes his eyes to come to a satisfactory decision... he cannot say for sure, if Rose's held any merit to them... but in the end, when it comes to these types of predictions... they never sound like something anyone could easily make up. He then reopens his eyes to stand up and give Menat, the answer she needed.

"...all right. I will go."

"Wow, really? That was quick. You are aware, that we can't get to Rose right away and this trip might take longer than you would initially expect..."

"I understand the circumstances well enough. And she says, she wants to see me... if that is the case, then I suppose, I have no other choice, but to listen to her prayer."

But then, Menat jumps off of the bed herself, as she then look at Ryu with a serious look now.

"If that is the case... then it's me, who won't have a choice either."

However, seeing her so quickly stand up, out of her bed immediately alarmed the Ansatsuken master... she may have rested for an entire day, but in his opinion, that is far from enough for a girl this small and fragile-looking... so you can imagine the shock being written in his eyes.

"Wait, why do you- are you really feeling well again? I mean, you- that beating you received from this monster did looking anything, but not agonizingly painful!"

But then... she smiled at him, letting him know, she was totally fine. And as it turns out... this girl seemed way tougher, than she initially looked...

"Heh heh... just a good piece of advice from me. I may look like your average, cutesy-looking fortune telling girl to you, but be warned... I am not Rose's disciple without a reason. I can take a beating like that just fine. I just wasn't prepared for this freak of nature... and how could I, cheap how he was, he basically rammed me down and gave me no room to defend myself."

She then starts warming up, by doing a little stretching with all of her arms and legs, while still having her eyes focus on him with a grin.

"And you may be wondering, why I am doing this right now. Well, let's say... now that I think about it, I can also now recall her having told me something about challenging you to a fight, just to test your abilities and see how far you've come from the last time, you met her."

"Wait... you want to fight me?"

"You guessed it. See it as two things: To prove myself, that I am worthy of being your personal guardian... and to see, if you are up to the challenges, that may lay ahead of our journey."

Ryu could not be anymore shocked at her overwhelming determination. But he reminisced of this classic phrase: Never judge a book, by its cover alone. If she is able to chew that much, it makes him wonder, how long she is going to last against him... so he nodded in approval.

"...OK. Then let us meet at the dojo. I am going to let Gouken know, that you are back in good shape."

"I will be waiting. You know where to find me."

Later...

Gouken was entering the rented dojo with Ryu and Menat already facing one another, right in the middle... he had to repeatedly caress the tip of his dense, grey-white beard, as he was really curious to see, what this little girl had for tricks up her sleeve.

"Hmmm... I can sense a really unusual aura emanating around her... she must be still green behind her ears, but I could be wrong... maybe, I shouldn't immediately be the really critical judge. This will be interesting, most certainly..."

Then, Ryu slightly bows his head before Menat as a sign of respect and sportsmanship, with the latter feeling confused, as of why he does that, as she wasn't that familiar with the far eastern culture... but since it's not like her to be rude, she goes along with it and bows before her opponent too... with Ryu adjusting his red gloves, while smiling...

"Are you ready, Menat?"

"Right when you are... and since you saved me, the first punch, is to be yours."

The second this message reached Ryu's ears, he then grew to be a little bit suspicious... he had to mutter to himself, not thinking much of it yet...

"I don't know why, but something tells me, that she must be plotting something... it's not very common to get allowance from the opposition to start the match, at least with someone as experienced as me... at any case, we may want to investigate this further and proceed with caution."

And as expected, Ryu went first, just to test the waters and see, what he is really dealing with here.

"Here I come! Raaaaa!"

And with that, Ryu sped forward, preparing for a well-timed, strong right... suddenly, everything goes in slow motion, as Menat then suddenly starts smirking to herself...

"Oh please... is that it?"

...and even though, she clearly had a plan, she didn't make any attempts to dodge the attack and right when Ryu's punch caused some dust to be summoned around the two... when the dust cleared... it was then, when the Ansatsuken master realized, he hit something incredibly solid.

"What in the-?!"

"Come on, did you seriously expect me to simply take it? You have got to do better than that..."

...and out of the dust, came forth a huge, shiny ball, that Ryu's fist is currently connected to and Menat's head was right behind it. With her then jokingly peeking her head out from the side.

"Peek-a-boo! I can see you!"

"Is... is that a crystal ball?!"

"I should have known it...!"

The female Egyptian starts giggling in a childish, yet irresistably adorable manner, before then stepping back a little to do a few almost acrobatic tricks with her crystal ball. And while she spins it on top of her index finger like a basketball, balances it on her nose, kicks it up and down with her ankles, as if she was playing soccer with it or balances it on the top of her hood, she playfully smiles at the two warriors, who couldn't believe their eye sight anymore... especially Ryu.

"So that's what you were planning... that's why you let me attack first... I should have expected anything, that resembled a significant counterattack, but... anything, but this! How do you do this anyway?!"

"Heh heh, impressive, isn't it? Can't blame you for looking pretty stumped right now... and well, how do I do this? As the shortest possible answer: Rose taught me so. Errands to run is a hazzle, but hey, you gotta know some way to fight and entertain yourself at the same time and this baby here, has never let me down. What is a fortune teller, without a crystal ball anyway? Too cliché for you?"

The surprise struck Ryu so badly, he couldn't even fathom this whole deal with Menat's "tool"... and he had to awkwardly chuckle, as he scratched the back of his head.

"Either way, this is... very... umm... "unique". I am really sorry, I can't even pretend... this is on a whole new level of bizarre... and as far as my knowledge goes, Rose never fought with a ball like that. She used her scarf... still... I am not going to lie. Now you made me even more curious."

He had to grin, before tightening his headband a little more, smiling to himself...

"After all, they don't call me the "Wandering Warrior" for nothing. Show me what you can do with this specialty of yours!"

"You should be careful with what you wish for... the outcome, the answer to this battle could already lay... right within my beloved Soul Sphere."

"Let's find out!"

FIGHT!

Since he saw, what kind of fighter Menat could turn out to be, Ryu first decides to go on the defensive and see, what else this crystal ball of hers can do... you may never know.

"Since you already had your first turn, may I start now, please? I'll bet, you'd like to see more from me."

"Go on ahead."

"OK."

And right within a brief instance, Menat closes her eyes to concentrate and when she did, her ball suddenly starts hovering above the ground... and then, she catapults her ball forward, as if it was a projectile weapon. However, the speed of this little ball was truly magnificent, as Ryu had very little time to react and because it came so sudden... he crossed his arms to block the attack and simply deflects it, by raising his crossed arms over his head. And just when he moved forward to attack the seemingly defenceless girl before him... she had to grin, before doing a little motion with her right hand, that she hid right behind her back...

"Oh, you thought that was it?"

And the moment, when his fist should connect with her face, he suddenly gets completely knocked back. Straight from the right with the glowing sphere coming in contact with his face, causing him to crash to the ground... before quickly recovering and then gawking at Menat with wide eyes...

"So you are able, not only to attack with it, but also to turn it into a projectile, that tracks down its opponent, even after a good block?"

"Correct. But still, no A+ for you... yet."

Ryu now began forming a stragety in his mind, now that he has witnessed the hard way, what exactly Menat's special ability is...

"If she really is capable of letting her own weapon work similar to a homing missile... then I really have to watch my step... blocking once won't cut it, as already seen... hey, maybe I can... let's try that! The moment I block and she tries to let it strike me again... she is going to get a taste of her own medicine!"

And with that, Ryu goes at it again and decides to face Menat upfront, punching and kicking her... but for some reason, this time, she did not use her sphere to block. In fact, before he even came closer to her, she threw the ball away from herself and then immediately began focusing on shielding herself more with her own body. Now, she was showing, that she can indeed defend herself, even without the sphere... as unexpected as that was for our hero to see Menat use her own arms and legs to block, it still positively astonished him. And she couldn't help, but not hide her excitement.

"What? You thought I am completely vulnerable without my sphere? Newsflash, Rose even let me go through all sorts of physical endurance tests too, y'know... that part with the ball is one thing, but that is a whole different story. Paid off, didn't it?"

"Indeed. So far, you don't disappoint."

"I am glad... but I still haven't showed you everything... like this one!"

She then blocked with both arms to take the kick, that he was throwing at her, before she then takes her ball again and take Ryu's confusion to her advantage... by first hitting him in the gut with her crystal ball, before jumping up, pull the ball upwards to get close to Ryu's face, before then slam kicking the sphere right into the Ansatsuken master's face with both feet in mid-air, causing him to slightly fly back, forcing him to rub his feet across the wooden carpet with him braking it with his right fist...

"Ugh!"

And she was far from done with him... this time, she decides to not go easy on him for a change and actually use her ball's combat potential to 100%. She does so, by catapulting her ball forward for a start with Ryu dodging it this time, as he found out, that this is not the right time to put his own stragety into action yet. He had to wait for the right moment... and in the meantime, Menat showed off more of her ball skills, as she then does some almost circus like movements with her hand. She literally forced him into dancing, by making him dodge the ball from every conceivable angle... from left to right, from right to left, from above to below, from below to above, from the top corner to the bottom one and reversed, it found no end and she couldn't resist, but laughing out loud, just by watching Ryu struggle like that, trying to keep up with her...

"If it wasn't for the fact, I was actually in the middle of a fight, this could actually count as the best time of my life... I am sorry, I know it's morbid, but I can't help it. It looks so funny, watching you trying your hardest to dodge my Soul Sphere...!"

"Well, amusing for you... not so much for me!"

"But I am getting bored of this... now for some real action! Hah!"

She brought her crystal ball to an abrupt stop, right in front of Ryu's face... and that one moment, of where he didn't watch his step, he found himself getting uppercutted into the air by the ball and Menat took the opportunity to juggle him a little around in mid-air and she increased the speed, until her wrist grew tired... and she decides to end this painful combination, by running forward, jumping up and then making Ryu crash right back to the floor below, by doing a well-timed, wild drilling-down Khamun Kick from above, striking his stomach dead on.

"Some shish kebab, coming right up!"

Although, that was a critical hit, he still recovered fairly quickly, tough as he was and he stood back up on his feet... even then, that didn't stop him from then realizing, that his nose was bleeding and that some part of his body ached. Gouken was sitting on the ground, laughing out loud, while clapping slightly.

"It seems, this little girl got you real good. Nevertheless, isn't she impressive? Like you, I didn't think much of her, but now I have to change my mind. Not many manage to catch you off guard like that."

His pupil had to laugh too, quickly wiping the blood away...

"I must agree... she really is something... she is so professional, yet so young. Not many can manage to get this far at such an age. Rose must have taught her well... and it definitely shows."

"What do you say? You think she really is worthy of being your guide?"

"I think so... but I'd like to see more of her. She did say earlier, that she still has got tricks to show me and I wouldn't want to miss the chance, now shall we?"

"Get on and make me proud, you two!"

While they had a talk, Menat was playing around with her sphere again and this time, it resulted with her kissing the ball and smiling at it.

"What would I do without you...?"

"Well, are we ready to continue?"

"Yes, we are!"

But Ryu had to think to himself again...

"She can block with AND without the sphere... I still have to wait for the right moment, of when I am going to put my plan into action... but for now... I am itching to know, if she can withstand this."

Then, Ryu steps back and starts building up a fair amount of blue energy in between his two hands... totally alarming Menat, comically making her jump out of her little trance. She grew insecure, as she has a technique up her sleeve, but she never really had to use it that often and now that it's time, she had a tough time concentrating in a situation this urgent...

"Uh-oh! Is he already planning on using it? OK... then... calm down, Menat... you can do this, use the sphere, exactly like how your master told you to do so... we practiced this more than once...! Focus... focus... focus!"

She then brings her crystal ball forward again, looking serious this time around...

"Alright...! Here goes nothing...!"

"You may have been able to withstand everything I threw at you so far... but are you also able to withstand THIS?! HADOUKEN!"

And with that, he fires a relatively large, blue glowing beam at her with her then doing a few super quick movements with her hands... causing her Soul Sphere to then turn into a huge, blue-white glowing barricade, right in front of her.

"SOUL REFLECT!"

And as expected, the barrier caught Ryu's projectile...

"What the-?! A barrier?!"

"Ugggh! Raaaaagh!"

However... even though she succeeded in summoning her barrier, the amount of force behind the Hadouken was way too much for her to handle and it caused a good load of pain, trying to hold it back from hitting her and absorb it... and with Ryu using more of his strength to try and break through the wall of energy in front of him, it grew tougher and tougher for the petite fortune teller to keep the barrier upright and soon, it reached a point, where her feet start rubbing against the wooden floor... before she eventually manages to close the shield and absorb the Hadouken... but the side effect of that was... the recoil of the blast caused her to fly back and crash right into the wall behind her, moaning in pain...

"Oh damn it... one hell of a bummer, if you ask me..."

Now Ryu realized, he must have went a little too far here... he was totally stumped by her deflecting barrier, but at the same time... she did not seem to use this technique with a lot of confidence in it actually working... he had to yell out with a softened up look, as he watched her only slowly cradling herself back onto her walkers.

"Menat! Are you alright?!"

"Yeah, more or less... but... I still need some damn practice with this stupid technique. I am basically at the end of my wits with it... let's better get on with it."

"Should we take a break, maybe?"

"No! I am fine, I can take it, just... don't mind me too much..."

She then makes a hand motion, that basically pulls her crystal back to her hand like a strong magnet, starting to look annoyed and frustrated as of why her own deflector move did not work as planned...

"...and fight me for real!"

"Here she comes! Now it's my turn to strike back...!"

And as expected, Menat fires the crystal ball at him again... only this time, he blocked, but not by crossing his arms to do it. He actually catches the ball with both hands, totally shocking the crap out of the female Egyptian, before kicking it right back at her... forcing her to catch and at the same time, also lower her guard and he dashed right in, giving her no means of using anymore tricks...

"I don't think so...!"

...and before she knew it, she found herself getting brutally struck by a Shoryuken, a direct hit in the jaw. She flies through air, completely defenceless, only giving more free spots to attack and as expected, it did not stop here. Ryu jumps after her, kicking her right gut first, before doing a well-timed spinning kick in mid-air, hitting her two times, before going for a good out-knocker. He balls both fists together as one and then hits Menat right in the backside, making her fly back down to the ground, face-first...

"Urrgh!"

...before Menat recovers and gracefully bounces off the wooden carpet, dodging a meteor like punch from Ryu from above her hood, pulling her ball back to its owner, before firing her ball right at him again. But since he grew smarter from that, he won't hide from it anymore and goes into the offensive.

"What do the wise ones say? Mistakes only make you smarter... and I am going to put it to use now."

He focuses all his Ki on his right fist... before then punching the ball out of the way, as he runs straight at her, ready to go for another Shoryuken, so it seems... but this time... he actually did something way smarter... of course, Menat would then desperately summon her ball back to herself to shield her body from injuries... only that this time, it is going to do the total opposite of what it's supposed to be doing, as Ryu then all of a sudden, jumps up... and does a fully charged spinning Tatsumaki... and the force of that special move was so intense, in the end, the ball starts repeatedly slapping Menat across the face, instead of protecting her and it became so bad, she was completely stunned to move, all she saw was comical stars swirling around her small head...

"Sometimes, your own weapon, can be your own demise... now, let's end this, shall we?"

He then goes in, pulls off another Shoryuken on her and right before she could land back on the carpet, Ryu fires off another, yet somewhat weaker Hadouken, just to send her flying against the wall again and there was nothing, she could do about. Ryu was just too fast for her in that moment... but much to his surprise, Menat still manages to stand up somehow, even after that harsh beating, that she received from him...

"Unbelievable... she sure is tough..."

"I am not finished with you yet...! I am ready for another go, show me your Hadouken, one more time...! I am prepared for you...!"

Suddenly, she starts focusing all the remaining Ki, that she had left inside her, all into the ball in her right palm... and despite her slightly doubling forward with her knees trembling, she was still fully determined to fight back... despite his doubts, Ryu would hate to disappoint her, so... he fully respects her desire, nods and starts charging up a stronger Hadouken... with more energy getting focused into the Soul Sphere, the glow around it became a stronger and shinier blue, mixed in with white and a faint yellow...

"HADOUKEN!"

"SOUL STRIKE!"

...with both fully charged, the Ansatsuken master fires his infamous projectile, while Menat dashes forward to fight against it, using her fully powered Soul Sphere to push her weapon against it, hoping it might eventually stop from reaching her dead on, so that she can hit Ryu... the power, that emanates from the clash is anything, but weak, as the ground underneath slightly starts to show cracks in some places... with both putting more power into it... suddenly, the struggle ends with the both of them getting mercilessly knocked back, as none of the two managed to overpower the other and no winner really came out of this... Gouken then steps forth, as he decides, this was good enough for him to confirm: Menat and Ryu are ready. He then does a handsign, that indicated, that the battle was over.

"All right, that is enough, you two. Enough fighting for today."

Both of the brave contestants slowly got themselves into a sitting position, with Ryu giving Menat a proud and encouraging thumb up, with her cutely returning it, feeling pretty proud of herself. None of the two may have won the match, but it didn't really matter anyways. All this was a fight to test one another and both come to the conclusion: We really are ready to go and start the trip. And no words were really needed to express their pride... Ryu was proud of the little fortune teller either way with how bravely she stood against him and how she managed to positively surprise him with her skills as combatant...

Later...

After the two having enjoyed a shower individually, and having received some wound treatment from Gouken... both decided to move out tomorrow, rather than today, as they will need all the strength, that they are going need... at the moment, Menat was outside, enjoying the fresh air... she simply wanted a moment to clear her mind, as she was not feeling that confident about this errand turning out to be a success... she may have looked confident about it, but at the same time... she was dreadfully nervous. After all, this is a mission, that might decide the fate of the whole world they live... they may not know exactly, what it really is, that threatens their world, but that wasn't really important... so she had to think to herself, while looking up at the peaceful and clear night sky, with a stern face...

"It's funny... master told me to watch over Ryu... yet at the exact same time, the other day, he had to watch over me not getting eaten by this Necalli freak... I don't really get it, why did she choose me for this job? Also, why does he need protection anyway...? After all, today, he has proven to be far above my league of skill... and yet, I am the one, playing the babysitter for him... am I really going to be any help at all for him?"

While she was totally sunken in her own sorrows, she then heard a voice behind her, that made her immediately break out of her mild trance...

"Menat."

It was no other than Ryu...

"Huh?"

...and judging by the look in his eyes, the little fortune teller was able to tell, he was sincerely worried about her. Now, she shall find out, how he comes to that conclusion deep down.

"You can't fool my eyes. I can tell, that you are feeling strong anxiety within your soul... is there something troubling you?"

At first, she was hesitant to respond back, as she doesn't really know Ryu on a personal level, so opening up to him felt a little awkward for her... a man, she doesn't even know, listening to her sorrowful ramblings... it didn't feel right, but nevertheless... since she doesn't want to be rude, she decides to play along...

"Umm... I guess, you could say that... You do know, that I have been entrusted by my master with the task of watching over you... but ever since you actually had to save my bacon, even though, it's supposed to happen the other way around, I... I am indeed concerned about the probability of success with this errand... and with me having received a major ass-kicking from you today... you get the gist..."

The warrior's look really softened up, as he was beginning to quickly understand, what was going on with her...

"I see... you are fearing of not being able to fulfill your task and thus disappointing Rose, in the process..."

"Yeah... you got me, heh..."

"You shouldn't really worry about it, Menat. I know, that Rose is not the kind of woman to severely scold you and I know, this mission may be very important, I get the idea... but breaking your head about it, won't get us anywhere... and I am sure of it, you WILL be a strong addition on this adventure, because... that technique you used to deflect my Hadouken... keep working on it, it's magnificent, you shouldn't give up hope, I was really stumped when you used it! Nobody has ever really tried to stop the Hadouken with their bare hands, you should be proud of yourself! If you master this ability... I will be very proud of you and Rose will too..."

Hearing Ryu's encouraging words... it made her feel like, he is her own father... that she never really had... she felt her cheeks redden and a warm fuzzy, comfortable feeling growing up inside of her... her happiness couldn't be hidden...

"Thanks... you are what they must call you, one hell of a charming, smooth talker..."

"Aspiring fighters of your kind need way more credit, than you get at the moment... but, back to topic... if you still can't get over your inner demons, why don't you just sit back and reduce your stress?"

"Reduce my stress...? Wait, let me guess, are you referring to... meditating?"

"Precisely. Sit down in front of me, we'll do it right away."

Her cheeks just became even redder than before... she felt really flattered and rubbed the backside of her head in embarrassment, as she has never really done this sort of thing before with a partner...

"Oh...! Hehehe... well, Rose keeps telling me to meditate to relax, as well, although... I have never done that with someone else giving me some company, but... it's not a big deal, is it...?"

"Hahaha, no! Come on, let us not stall!"

Within the matter of a few seconds, Menat was already sitting right in front of Ryu... that only made her situation even more awkward for herself...

"OK..."

"Well, if Rose has already shown or mentioned to you before, how this works, it shouldn't be a problem for you, right? Just... close your eyes... relax... and send all your sorrows to the desert..."

By that point, his eyes were already shut, not too tight, but also not too soft... he felt like, he was becoming one with the universe itself... the balance, the inner peace returned to him... this made his now official companion feel even more stumped than before... and she began talking to herself again inside her head...

"Wow, talk about "taking this way too seriously"... he is even worse, than Rose... if that is even possible... makes me wonder, if he goes to sleep like that in the middle of noon or when he is simply taking a nap in the afternoon, or-"

Ryu was quick to notice, that she wasn't easing up and her inner distress could be felt from inches away...

"Hey, you are not relaxing, are you? Remember what I said... let all the negative energy just flow out of you... like a river, under a brigde..."

"Oh, OK! Will do it right away!"

And this time... Menat really did manage to release all of her worst fears from her subconscious... at least, for the moment... and while she was spending time with Ryu, she felt like... that he might become her good friend within a short amount of time, for sure... she had to smile, while her eyes are still closed...

"He seems way kinder, than I initially thought... so humble and graceful... and I kinda expected him to be some self-centered guy, that only cares about picking up fights for the thrill of it and that's that, but... no... I couldn't be any further from the truth... may this journey be a success..."

While the two were meditating... Gouken had to watch the two with a proud grin on his lips, nodding in approval...

"This young girl is surely a kindred spirit... she may still have a long, long way to go... but all of her efforts today were truly beyond my expectations... it's not very often, that someone manages to withstand Ryu this long and with a lot of resistance... that potential of hers must NOT be wasted, at all..."

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. The Search For A Friend

**Chapter 3: The Search For A Friend**

The Next Day...

Yesterday's match between Ryu and his now brand new fighting partner, Menat, has surely been a tough one and it left a lasting impression on our main hero, as he was convinced, there was way more to Menat, than he initially thought of her... and today was the day, where their journey would begin. Right now, Ryu was in his room, packing in all the stuff he might need for the trip... and before he and his partner went to sleep, he made the first suggestion on where to go and who to find, who could join their cause, before heading straight for Rose... their first destination: America. Where they are supposed to meet up with Ken Masters. Ryu's life-long best friend and second disciple of Gouken.

Ryu is aware, that ever since Ken got married and had to go back home, he has grown busier than ever, but... safety went first. Rose was never wrong, when it came to foreshadowing, the rise of evil itself and he is going to need every advantage he could possibly get.

Meanwhile with Menat, she has very casually decided to put on some hotpants, a black tanktop, including a purple-white jogging jacket and some sneakers with her long purple stockings acting like socks for her... she didn't care all that much with looking fancy in general, she just goes with the flow and wears whatever she finds, that looks acceptable to her... and while she is tying her shoelaces, she had to think to herself, as she felt way more confident than yesterday and it was all thanks to Ryu's encouraging words... it was not very common for her to feel so sure of herself, but this was new to her and she couldn't really describe it with words...

"Man... barely two days have already passed by and only yesterday did I get the privilege to face da man himself... to be honest, I feared that he would be a troublesome and moody fellow, but... he totally proved the opposite to me. That's strange though. When it comes to social situations with other people, I totally suck at making friends or hell, better yet, totally suck at trusting anyone... like a stray cat, wandering the streets, meowing out loud for some food... and he gave me that: Food, in the form of faith in me and my abilities..."

...once the last shoelace was tied together, she then comes to a pretty swift and sharp conclusion, smiling to herself.

"OK, that's it! Ryu is awesome, I got nothing else to say, we might as well play along and leave it at: This will be one HELL of a journey. Heh."

She then grabs her bag, throws it over her shoulder and leaves her room... and once she arrived at the exit, she realized, Ryu was already waiting for her... but this was not the reason, why she was so surprised... it was the fact, that... the Ansatsuken master actually dressed up, like a typical citizen. She then reminded herself, at how he mentioned to her yesterday, that if there is one thing, he truly despised doing... is wearing normal clothes, especially shoes. And yet there he was, dressed in a white t-shirt, blue denim jeans and red-white sneakers... even though, he didn't make it too obvious, just from the look in his eyes alone, Menat was able to conclude: He must be hating his own existence right now. That thought alone made her chuckle out loud...

"Well, well, well, look what Mr. I-refuse-to-wear-normal-clothes does right there... and I thought, I needed glasses."

And unbelievably, Gouken had to laugh with her, since even he was aware of that very obvious flaw of his own pupil.

"Hoho, you should have seen his face, when I left the clothes behind for him. I bet, even a teenager your age would be more mature about this than him... as tragic as it sounds."

All this laughing did not bode well with Ryu and it became quickly obvious, he was slightly turning red, with one of his eye brows twitching in sincere annoyance... and he to respond back to them, one way or another.

"...Thank Chun-Li for that. Thank her, for compelling me into wearing this tacky stuff, against my own will. And you know what? Once we get to her, I think, I may already know what to do. And no... I never said anything about using fists."

But this only made his friends laugh even louder, much to his displeasure.

"Nevermind... let's just go already, before I forget myself."

He then approaches his master, giving him a quick hug, before departure... and before he left with his young bodyguard, Gouken had to give this encouraging message to him, in case, should he worry about him too much.

"Take good care of yourself, Ryu... and may you and Menat succeed in your mission. I will be returning to Japan soon, so don't waste any thoughts about my safety. Make sure that you two remain in good health and with that... good luck, my boy."

"Thank you, master. And farewell."

"See ya!"

And with that, the two set off... the journey... has finally begun.

A little while later, outside of the little town...

Unlike most countries, the airport wasn't too far away from where they had left the dojo and to sort of keep themselves fit, the two agreed on first going on foot, until they reach a train station, that will transport them to their goal... along the way, Menat had to let out a sigh of happiness. She could not explain why, but today, she was in high spirits... the expectations, that Ryu has about her, might be the cause for this, as it felt good to be relied on by someone else for a change, other than Rose... and to keep this trip from becoming too monotonous, she decides to become more social with the one, she wants to protect... and the topic of discussion was Ken Masters himself...

"Hey, umm, Ryu...?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you please tell me a little about this Ken Masters? You said, he was your best friend for a lifetime... at least, that's how I would interpret your vague description of him thus far... how exactly did you two, get to know each other?"

"Heh, I knew, you'd be asking sooner or later... well... phew, let me tell you right off the top of the bat, the story is anything, but short, so... expect this to be lengthy."

"No, it's fine! I am one of those weirdos, that likes to listen about what others have to tell about themselves, I am a good listener."

"OK then, well... where do I start...?"

FLASHBACK

A 12 year old Ken is seen, walking to the bus station with his own little suitcase, feeling slightly nervous, as he waited for the bus to arrive, pick him up and get him to the airport... normally, he would enjoy the luxury of being taken anywhere, just by getting inside the limousine of his father, but on this day, this was a whole different story...

Ryu: "Ken told me back in the day, his life was actually pretty much filled with no issues whatsoever... on a financial level at least. You should know, he is coming from a wealthy family in America, who run a famous line of hotels throughout the United States and... I barely remember the name of them, but I think it went something along the lines of "Master's Den"... either way, his family situation was fairly steady, according to him, but at the same time, his father did not really want him to stay at home all this time and wanted him to mature more and avoid him becoming a spoiled brat later on, that would do nothing, but repeatedly get in the way of his family's successful place in the world... so off Ken goes, on his way to Japan and land straight in the arms..."

Ken is then seen, bumping right into nobody else, but Gouken himself... the young American looked slightly scared of him, before the jolly, middle-aged man starts laughing out and gently touches the youngster on the top of his head, with him feeling totally confused...

Ryu: "...of my master, Gouken."

Frankly, the young Masters did not really want to be here and he especially hated the fact, that he had to come, all by himself, with nobody else, guiding him to his destination and to him, Gouken did not look that trustworthy... so he forced a smile, to hide the fact, that he wasn't really fond of all this...

Ryu: "But believe it or not, he FEARED my master, upon their first encounter. All because, from his perspective at least, he looked like the type of man, that is going to break his bones, should he dare saying something silly... and before you think about saying, how immature that is of him... let me stop you right there, because you need to take in consideration, that he was 12 at the time and because he was anything, but used to going all by himself, into a totally different part of the world with nobody else giving him some emotional support... I cannot really blame him for feeling this way..."

And we now get to see Ken encountering the young Ryu, for the very first time... both looked at one another, merely inches away with comically, angry expressions, with a spark connecting their foreheads in fury and challenge, already indicating, that the two were not that fond of one another... this memory made Ryu in the present laugh...

Ryu: "Oh boy, what I won't hide from you though, is how Ken was not able to stand me at first, the moment our eyes met. Even in the present, he claims me to be the cockier one among us two... and I cannot grasp, why... but who cares, right?"

Menat couldn't restrain herself from cutely laughing along with him, since she felt that memory to be sugar sweet... and we then see a transition from childhood, to young adulthood, where the two Ansatsuken pupils first fight as teenagers... with the years quickly passing by, until they were pretty much almost grown up... and this part was always Ryu's favourite...

Ryu: "You know what, though? I still believe, it was a good thing, that we saw each other as bitter rivals at first, because I needed a counterweight anyhow, someone that kept reminding me, I have to keep myself in shape, otherwise, I may fall behind... we watched each other grow stronger with each training session behind us and as the days went by, we turned from rivals... to friends. And that hasn't changed, since then..."

Ryu's description of that particular memory almost made him shed a tear, as he felt like this was the best time of his life... that he found not only an equal to himself... but also a really loyal friend.

Ryu: "Even now, my bond with Ken, despite him no longer possessing the time to invest in coming to visit me and train once more, just like old times... is that of a friendship, that may last for ages. I just know it. Nothing can tell me otherwise, that is how close we really are."

However... then came the dark times, when Bison first became a real threat to the world... at the time, there was nothing else, that Gouken could possibly teach the two youngsters anymore... he deemed their training to be finally complete and even though, this was a good message for Ken, as he was finally able to return home and see his family again... it wasn't really good news for Ryu, since he has grown so fond of the young Masters and their training and time together, has made them pretty much inseparable. But that wasn't the worst part, it was yet to come... first, we see Ken bidding both Gouken and Ryu farewell, before leaving with the bag of his shoulder...

Ryu: "Of course, nothing can last forever and Ken has made it more than obvious, he was missing his family, despite us having had our golden time under Gouken's protective and guiding wing... and when he left, a little bit within me died... however, that didn't stop me from running after my own goals... and that was to travel the world and become stronger myself... just because, my best friend wasn't there anymore, that was no excuse for me to slack, so I came to the decision to leave and head out for my own adventure..."

Then came a memory, that our hero actually wanted to avoid mentioning at any cost, as it used to give him nasty nightmares... and it was about the message, that Ken has gone missing... by that point, he has become quite the local celebrity in his own state, as he had decided to become fully independent of his family and open up his own Ansatsuken dojo, somewhere in Texas, in his hometown... and when Ryu decided to pay him a visit, he had to realize the hard way... Ken was gone, without a single trace behind.

Ryu: "...and this journey led me back to the United States, where I decided to pay Ken and his own students a small visit. Before he went back home, he had already told me about his own plans by then, how he wanted to be a self-made man, gaining his daily bread by opening up his own dojo, back at home... I was excited, but... this excitement quickly turned for the worse, as I came to the shocking realization... Ken was nowhere to be found. The dojo was empty and looked abandoned... no students were anywhere to be seen and it was then, when I heard of this very man... Bison."

Ryu is then seen, sitting inside a bar, checking the news, while trying to enjoy some chicken wings... and once he saw Bison's face inside the television... he immediately felt danger, emanating from this person... he was accused of being responsible for kidnapping a number of strong martial artists from around the world... it was unsure, what he was plotting at that moment and Ryu didn't pay much mind to it... until...

Ryu: "I should have been smarter... his appearance was a bad omen, through and through... and knowing, that he could be behind the kidnappings... at first, I refused to see a connection between this man and Ken's disappearance, like... what else could I do... the thought was too terrific... unfortunately, that is exactly what I shouldn't have done, looking back..."

Bison, with the backup of his own corporation, Shadaloo, was also the host of the second WFC (World Fighting Championship), in which it became clear... how dirty and rigged this entire game really was... then, the worst of his fears became a reality... Ryu faced one of the opponents, he never expected to be working for M. Bison in the first place... it was Ken. This sight alone... had caused Ryu to completely lose control of himself, as his deep-rooted hatred for Bison at this very moment, flared within a fiery blaze in his heart and the Satsui no Hado came forth... in the form of Evil Ryu... a barbaric carnage began...

Ryu: "...but just as Rose foretold back then... the worst of our nightmares should all end up being true and all too real. When I faced this person, that has previously been my best friend and training partner... was now nothing more than a mindless puppet of Bison himself. I may have managed to get to a draw with him and weaken him enough to make him come back to his senses, but it turned out to be a trap... he knocks me out and runs off... and there I laid, being the failure, that I was for not having been able to save my best friend... I just wasn't strong enough... even with me having succumbed to my Satsui no Hado..."

Since Ryu lost the match against one of Bison's servants, he got thrown out of the tournament... and we now see him, laying in a hospital bed with Chun-Li gently caressing his forehead with one hand, looking sincerely worried about him, while Guile was sitting on a chair, with his head hanging...

Ryu: "Even with my friends having tried supporting me in any way they could, there was no way around it... I screwed up real bad and thought, I had lost Ken forever... my depression, in addition with my severe injuries... it took quite the toll on me in every possible department and for the first time ever, in my entire life, I was finally able to understand... what absolute "failure" was..."

Later, we see Ryu then sitting close to Ken's hospital bed, feeling so relieved to see his friend having returned to his former self... he was hurt, but this pain didn't mean anything to him, as all he could think about, was how happy he was to see his best friend again, after what he did to him... and the Ryu in the present, spoke in a more cheerful tone, comforting Menat...

Ryu: "To my shock though, I had to realize... my words did seem to have struck a nerve within Ken, while we had our match... and we found out later, it was him, who has beaten Bison in the tournament... Guile was the witness, brave as he was, in spite of the danger... I could not possibly describe with words, how glad I was to see my close friend again... and from that day forward, we grew ever closer..."

We then see Ryu, shaking hands with Ken, as the two have a sparring match together, just like in old times, not long after he finally recovered from his injuries... nobody knew, what happened to Bison, but this was not important anyhow... as all that mattered: Peace has returned at last and it would go on like this, for many years from now...

FLASHBACK ENDS

"...and well, this is how me and Ken became friends. Heh, I hope, I wasn't boring you too much with the sentimental details."

Much to Ryu's surprise, Menat was smiling at him, in such a sweet and innocent manner, he could only grin back in glee, as she showed her approval.

"No, you didn't! Not at all, actually... it moved me, deep down... the story of two young individuals, training and fighting together, while also going on adventures, they would never forget... nothing can top that."

"Your enthusiasm is pure gold, you know that?"

That compliment made the teenager blush, while slightly avoiding eye contact with him...

"A-Aside from that... I-I think we can safely conclude, that Ken will be a strong addition to the team, right?"

"Oh, I am sure... I mean, another thing, that deserves to be mentioned... so far, aside from Sagat and Chun-Li... Ken was the only one, who has managed to beat me, more than once, especially during our youth and still, we two have a long way to go..."

However, he grew a little insecure, as he reminded himself, that Ken was now a married family man, having a son to raise, a dojo to run and to partially assist his family with the hotels, as he has grown to realize: Financial support was indeed necessary from the sidelines and he is not going to make the same mistake again twice... it's not wrong to ask for help. Aside from that, the fact remains: Ken is a busy man and the chances of him joining him and Menat are fairly slim...

"I wonder, if he will even agree to this... after all, I don't want to pressure him, it's just not how I run, especially what he previously went through in the past..."

"Hey, asking never harms anyone, now does it? Maybe we are in luck, and he may indeed let someone else take his place to run everything in his absence... it's just a hunch, but it's not implausible, right?"

"...maybe, you're right. Let's just keep our fingers crossed, and-"

Suddenly... they heard screams of panic from up ahead. It came from the train station. They may have arrived at their destination, but it should become far from a "warm" welcome. Menat became alarmed immediately.

"Did you hear that?! It came from the station!"

"I don't like this...! Let's go!"

"Yeah, my sensitive nostrils tell me: Trouble is waiting just around the corner for us!"

Without a further question, both heroes ran as fast as they could to the building, close to the rails.

The lady behind the counter, that was selling the tickets, alongside the other waiting passengers in the room, were all threatened by a group of armed soldiers, who are pointing blank at the defenceless with their rifles...

Woman #1: "Please, please! Don't shoot! W-We will do anything, you want, just- don't shoot!"

Soldier #1: "Shut it, bitch, or you will get a bullet right through your narrow skull, you got that?! You don't want to piss me off, you really don't!"

The passengers were all on their knees, begging for forgiveness from these bitter men, hoping to not be shot.

Man #1: "I beg of you, sir! We will do anything for you! What is it that you need?!"

Soldier #2: "We need information about someone's whereabouts! We were told, that a wandering martial artist was seen around here, accompanied by a little girl in egyptian attire. Can anyone of you tell me, where either of the two are, hm?"

Woman #2: "A wandering martial artist...?"

Man #2: "A girl from Egypt...?!"

Soldier #3: "C'mon people, time is running short, save us the trouble and tell us already where these two are! Our boss has promised us quite the paycheck, should we succeed and we won't let it be ruined by you, low-lives!"

Just when one of the soldiers was about to shoot a man, all because of him having grown tired of his pathetic whimpering... a crystal ball flew through the air, hitting the armed fighter cleanly across the face, making him crash into the bench... this made the rest of the troop immediately turn their rifles and attention to whoever just dared to ambush them like this...

Soldier #1: "Hey! Uninvited guests, I see!"

And that soldier got knocked clean back as well, by a blue glowing Hadouken, smashing right into him upfront, letting the latter crash right into one of his comrades... and as you could guess, Ryu and Menat arrived, just in time, before anything could happen. And Menat was the first one to complain, wiggling her index finger in disapproval.

"Nuh-uh-uh, kiddos. I don't think asking people THAT way, will get you any gifts for your next birthday! I am just sayin'."

And Ryu was next to step forward, with all the soldiers loading their guns with load clacks, pointing at him with angry faces... to which he responds with a shaking head of disbelief, before raising his hands in defence, trying to get this tight situation under control.

Soldier #2: "Well, people! Looks like, your help won't be further needed around here, since the man, we have been looking for all this time, has saved us the trouble of even searching for his sorry ass!"

"Listen, I am not here to cause conflict. Let these citizens go and let us settle this matter like rational people."

Soldier #3: "Listen pal! We are not here for a diplomatic conference, gotcha? Bison has sent us to find you and simply take you to him, dead or alive, no clue. Wouldn't you save us some more trouble and just come along?"

When Ryu heard the man drop the name of Bison, he immediately became alarmed, as he and Menat quickly get into their fighting stance... she was quite shocked herself.

"Say what?! Bison himself?! How did he figure out our location?"

"Wait up! What does he want from me?"

Soldier #1: "Come on, dude! Can't you see, that we don't give a single flying eff about what you have to say about any of this? We were paid to hunt you, truces aren't listed on our schedules, so please be so kind... and come along quietly."

A shot gets fired... with Ryu and Menat dodging, by splitting up and jumping to opposite directions.

"Ryu, just screw it! We have to beat them to it!"

"That's right, if these soldiers really belong to Shadaloo, we cannot let them get on any longer from here on out... Menat, back me up!"

"Roger that!"

Soldier #2: "Don't worry, we will get you quicker than you wish for!"

And with that, everyone in the room, with the exception of Ryu and Menat, duck to avoid an onslaught of bullets from the Shadaloo henchmen... the fortune teller uses her crystal ball to generate a shield around herself and Ryu to block off all the small projectiles with ease and it indeed proved effective... as soon as they were forced to reload, this was Ryu's chance to strike.

"Ryu, now!"

Before the enemies could have any chance of firing again, the Ansatsuken master has already landed in front of them, grabbing the rifle of one of the soldiers, increasing the grip so bad, the tip broke off like an old tree branch. The soldier was cowering in fear, before Ryu throws the rifle up in the air and mercilessly kicks the now useless weapon right at the soldier's face, stunning him enough to perform a painful Spinning Kick combo on him, before then punching him across the face to send him flying out of the window.

Soldier #2: "That's not good, boys! Reload!"

"Hey, watch out!"

"Huh?!"

Since Ryu was too confused to react properly within the very instant second, it was too late, as the shots were fired again and he had no time to dodge... but Menat arrived, blocking the bullets by a hair with her barrier.

Soldier #3: "Boss, I think it's better if we take her out first! That way, this guy won't have anyone to block our rifles out, what do you say?"

Solider #2: "You have my approval!"

"Huh, bite me too, asshat!"

And with that, the fortune teller suddenly teleported right before one of the soldiers, pushing him back, noticing in a flash, that her ball has suddenly appeared behind him and knowing Menat's techniques, within a swift and precise hand movement... her ball retreated back to her hand, hitting right past the soldier's skull in the process, leaving him wide open for more. And she won't even go easy on him and instead fire her ball right at his face, before uppercutting him into the air with her ball from below and to follow it up further, Menat jumps after the flying enemy, kicking him further up in the air... before then sending him flying with a spinning Downward Kick, right in the stomach... sending him flying across the room, before landing right in front of the door, that was the exit.

"Tsk, that wasn't so hard. I'd say for a bunch of soldiers, you are too lame for comfort, like seriously!"

But her overconfidence ended up punishing her real bad, as the soldiers changed their strategy again and decided to play real dirty now, by dropping their rifles and instead focus on physically stopping Menat from using her weapon again... the three remaining soldiers grabbed her, two took her arms, while the last one steals her ball. She began to panic, as she felt like these creeps were planning on molesting her.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Let me go!"

Soldier #3: "Hehe! Not so tough now, aren't you girl? So without your stupid crystal ball, you are just as useless as you look!"

"Don't you dare touching my baby!"

Soldier #4: "But why? It's just a ball, that is tough to crack! What, is that supposed to be your teddy placeholder or something?"

"Please, don't! This ball means everything to me! Don't touch it!"

Soldier #4: "Then what, eh? Will you-"

But the soldiers got careless again themselves, as the thief of Menat's crystal ball gets a clean kick across the face, landing right against the next near window with his jaw dropping... it came from no other, than Ryu... and he shook his head, as he gently held Menat's little friend in his huge hands...

"Shouldn't you feel ashamed of yourselves? She is still young and obviously smaller than you, people of your caliber disgust me to the very core my soul. No honour whatsoever..."

Hearing these deadly and serious threats from the wandering warrior, the two remaining troublemakers cower in fear, as they let go of his little protector and now get what they should have seen coming from miles away... Ryu makes sort of "use" of Menat's firepower and uses her ball to beat these two enemies... he throws the ball into the air, following suit, before charging up and brutally kicking the crystal ball across the room, landing right in the face of one of the criminal mercenaries, with the end result being him flying back, crashing right into a wall, falling unconscious immediately, with the ball flying back to its original owner...

"Heh, while we are already at it of showing off our teamwork, why not let us finish the last one in style?"

"Fine by me... such honourless people deserve some tough love for a change."

The soldier was looking at the two heroes with shaky knees, starting to feel queasy... before being pushed forward from behind by yet another one of Menat's acrobatic tricks with her beloved weapon, before then getting hit upwards in the air from below, once again with the help of her crystal ball, giving Ryu some free range and he indeed followed the signs... as he jumped up in a somersault, kicking the man right in the gut, before doing a Spinning Kick, but this combo was far from over, as the little fortune teller suddenly appeared right behind the Shadaloo fighter, locking him in the air by wrapping her arms and legs around his entire body, basically serving him on a silver tablet for our wandering Shoto Master...

"He is all yours, Ryu!"

"With pleasure!"

...and this awesome display of teamwork ends with Ryu starting to punch the soldier with three, really strong and swift punches across the face, before then pressing his open palm on the enemy's chest... before then sending him flying out of the station, by doing a whole new technique, that he wanted to try out, while using less energy for a change...

"...HADOUKEN PUSH!"

...the open palm suddenly let out a small, yet really strong burst of pressure, followed by a small, blue cloud around his wrist and before he took off into a velocity, so strong and penetrating, it was enough to nearly send him to the moon, Menat gracefully lands on Ryu's shoulder, still on her feet... and both started laughing in a pretty awkward way, with the bystanders standing up and feeling incredibly relieved of the rescue...

Man #1: "You have saved us, thank you so much!"

Woman #1: "I don't know, what we would have done without your assistance! You have my sincere thanks!"

Hearing these compliments from random witnesses, made the generally shy Menat giggle to herself, as she blushes and rubs the back of her skull in embarrassment.

"Oh, shush! It was nothing, really! We... we weren't even trying... hehe...!"

But for Ryu, this was no real moment to be celebrating... his guardian was quick to notice him, kneeling down to check up on one of the now unconscious Shadaloo soldiers... and just to be safe, he even checked their armour... only to find, as expected, the Shadaloo logo on there. A skull with wings and a thunderstrike on the forehead...

"So this wasn't a bluff... they really were working for Bison after all... but... how did they find out our location and more importantly... what did they want from us? ...Were they after me?"

The female Egyptian was quick to follow suit and stop right next to him, to check the soldier out too... her look slightly turned into a sorrowful one...

"I don't get it... I never told anyone shady about what we were planning on doing... and by the looks of it, you never did either... and what's more... it's just as Rose foretold... we are going to become targets soon enough and I think... we should take this first encounter with Bison... as a bad omen. My crystal ball wasn't lying to me yesterday... and something tells me, this won't be the last time, we are going to run across these goons..."

That reminded him... back in the 2nd tournament, after Ken landed in the hospital... he may have won the tournament, but this wasn't satisfactory for Ryu... he wanted to personally face Bison himself, eye to eye and challenge him to a final bout... wanting to avenge his best friend and everyone else, that got in harm's way... but seeing the logo again with his own eyes... it all came flashing back to him and is beginning to realize the bigger picture... and Rose's words in that moment proved somewhat prophetic...

"Certainly not. Knowing Bison and his ambitious attitude... he didn't change one bit from our last battle... he is just as ruthless and unpredictable as ever... I know what I am talking about..."

FLASHBACK

Bison is seen, facing Ryu, during the 2nd World Tournament... at his laboratory... with a grin forming on his lips...

Bison: "Hmhmhmhmhm... very good, you are just as magnificent as I calculated... Ryu."

Ryu: "What do you want from me, Bison...? Why did so many people have to suffer... for what purpose...?!"

Bison: "Oh, fear not, my friend... for now, count yourself lucky... you have claimed victory over me... for now... be warned, that this won't be our last meeting... you possess such power... that would even make the devil shiver before its fearsome might. Just to let you know... that power shall be MINE."

Ryu: "Are you... after my Satsui no Hado...?! Is that the reason, why you had to make my best friend... a mindless slave and killing machine of yours...?!"

Bison: "He was just an appetizer... the true meal, shall be my crowning moment of me finally getting what is living inside you... for now, you may have beaten me... but don't you forget... we will meet again... and once that times comes..."

As he spoke, he slowly fades away in a purple and bright green light, obviously using his Psycho Power to teleport slowly away... and he leaves with that bone-chilling remark and a shit-eating grin...

Bison: "...I will break you, and make you surrender to me soon enough."

Ryu: "Hey! Come back, you coward and face me...!"

He attempted to punch him and charge straight at him... but in the end, he just ends up hitting thin air... he was gone... and all that could be heard, was a menacing and deadly sounding laughter, leaving an injured, younger Ryu behind...

FLASHBACK ENDS

"Ryu...?"

He then snapped back to reality, with Menat patting his head, looking confused and somewhat worried.

"Hello, earth to Ryu! Did you go on a snooze cruise or something?"

"Oh! Umm, no, it's... it's nothing, I... was just sunken in thoughts... don't worry."

Ryu knew one thing... if he was to tell Menat the truth about him and the reason, why Bison could be possibly after him... he would unnecessarily make her worry about him too much... in the end, both were just random strangers, just planning on going to the same place, at the same time... how he found out about his location was not important... the fact alone, that he was able to find him, the moment he left the safety of his master's protective wings... it could mean, he has eyes everywhere... this was his problem, not hers, so he decides to stay quiet about it...

"...are you sure?"

"Yes, I am, don't waste too much thought on me. Let's just buy a ticket and get to the airport already. Ken must be already waiting for us."

"Oh right! We are late! What are we waiting for?! Let's buy!"

She grew excited, because it was a long time, since she had to go on a plane and fly through the sky, free like a bird... she valued her freedom a lot and she couldn't help, but almost childishly jump up and down, as he and Ryu go to the counter to buy a ticket, with him chuckling like a father trying to calm his daughter.

"Heh, easy there, we will get it, hold your horses."

Not long after... both were already in the train, carrying them to their desired destination... the airport of Thailand... and as they got on the plane, Ryu was still reminiscing of Bison's and Rose's words... they added up too much to just coldly give them the shoulder... these men can only be the start of something worse to come... he knew it... and Menat, knows nothing about it... maybe, it's better this way...

TO BE CONTINUED...


End file.
